Mixing politics and ways to help our environment usually seems like a good pairing, but unfortunately when it came to the Solyndra company, it was not.
Solyndra is a leading company in clean and economical solar power panels for rooftops. They separate themselves from other solar power companies because they design their panels so they can cover all shapes of rooftops and cover more of the rooftops. The scandal of Solyndra started lasted for 5 years, starting in 2006 when Solyndra applied for a government applied loan under the Bush administration. (“The Washington Post”). The scandal started when there was miscommunication with the company and with the government confirming the loan had gone throug, when in fact it had not. In 2009, once the loan was actually confirmed by the government, the Obama administration started working with Solyndra and believed that they were a great company to be producing these solar panels.
As time progressed, Solyndra declared bankruptcy after receiving almost $600 Million from the government loans. ” Americans lost jobs. Taxpayers got stuck with the bill. And members of Congress are now in high dudgeon and making speeches.” (Kass). Obama had been warned that giving out such a big loan was very risky and not a good idea, but Obama believed in working with Solyndra in his hopes of our economy becoming more “green”.
“Republican staffers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have been sifting through tens of thousands of pages of internal emails, trying to find evidence Solyndra got special treatment from the White House despite a number of warning signs.” (Kass). The scandal has become a big burden on the Obama Administration as they deal with losing almost $600 Million to a company that could not live up to their capability. Many people believe that Obama and Biden were in on this because they wanted to look like the “good guys” by helping our economy go “green” but there is still much deliberation amongst government officials and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Unfortunately due to this scandal, Solyndra has made it very difficult for other green companies to apply and receive loans. “Solyndra’s failure will make it more difficult for wind and solar companies looking for tax credit extensions and new federal mandates”. (Samuelsohn).
Even though this scandal of Solyndra has become a very negative issue, it has helped to expose our government to clean energy subsidies and renewable power. These subsidies for renewable power are becoming so popular compared to subsidies for fossil fuels because they are better for our environment and they are cheaper. “Subsidies to fossil fuels—a mature, developed industry that has enjoyed government support for many years—totaled approximately $72 billion over the study period, representing a direct cost to taxpayers. Subsidies for renewable fuels, a relatively young and developing industry, totaled $29 billion over the same period,” reported by the Environmental Law Institute. (Morgan).
These subsidies are very smart for our government to start funding and using because they are better for the environment, they are more efficient, and they are cheaper.
Peter Lehner, a member of the Natural Resources Defense Council, states; “Moreover, ending oil and other dirty energy giveaways would do more than reduce taxpayer’s burden. It would also begin to address a much bigger drag on our economy—the hidden costs of our dirty energy infrastructure. By choosing to invest in clean energy and stopping oil subsidies, Congress can start building an economy that is cleaner, healthier, and made to last.”
Hopefully as time continues on the government will start to only invest in clean energy subsidies and stop all of our oil subsidies, so the government can save money and make a healthy environment for our society to live in.
References:
– Kass, John. “Obama’s Solyndra scandal reeks of the Chicago Way.” Chicago Tribune News. (2011): n. page. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-18/news/ct-met-kass-0918-20110918_1_solyndra-loan-guarantee-obama-fundraisers-obama-white-house>.
– Lehner, Peter. “Costly Oil Subsidies Drag Us Down; Clean Energy Investments Will Build a Healthier Economy.” Switchboard: Natural Resources Defense Council Staff Blog. 13 Dec 2012: n. page. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/plehner/costly_oil_subsidies_drag_us_d.html>.
– Morgan, Jack. “Should the U.S. Shift More Energy Subsidies to Renewable Power?.” Scientific American. 06 Aug 2012: n. page. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=making-renewable-energies-competitive>.
– Samuelsohn, Darren. “Making Sense of Solyndra.” Politico. (2011): n. page. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63654.html>.
– “Solyndra Scandal Timeline.” The Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/solyndra-scandal-timeline/>.